July 30, 2011

Hell to the yes. I finally got to sit down and smoke the new Illusione MK Ultra and today I get to talk about it. Before I went to the IPCPR tradeshow this year, I told everyone that the number one cigar I wanted to get a sample of was the MK Ultra. Jonathan Drew even made it a point to grab me an Ultra at the Fumar Smoke shop grand opening in Reno, NV the night before the show began. Thank you, Jonathan, for thinking of me. I ran into Dion Giolito (owner of Illusione cigars) on the first night of IPCPR at the Brothers of the Leaf party where he slipped me an Ultra in a much bigger size. I asked him what he thought of the cigar and he had this to say:

Quote Dion Giolito:This sticks are just awesome. They are full of flavor that I love and have an extra boost of power that will make a lot of people very happy.

For more information on the MK Ultra, and all of Dion's new offers from Illusione, please check out the video interview we did with him that last months IPCPR here.

Time for the "teaching machine" to take to fire. (teaching machine is the nickname of this cigar)

Due to the size of this cigar, this review is only in two parts instead of the traditional thirds.

The Illusione MK Ultra had a pristine wrapper. The dark brown color with reddish hues was almost uniformly even all around the cigar. The veins were there, but they were small and actually added to the look of the stick. This is not something I normally would think when it comes to the aesthetics of a cigar, but in this one it just worked. The pre-lit aroma was slightly sweet from the wrapper, but the open foot had a very deep earthy musk. I clipped the cap and the cold draw was free with just a slight tug of resistance. The flavor was nice natural sweet tobacco . I forgot to mention in the intro that the MK is my favorite size and blend in the regular Illusione line so yeah, I dig the size.

First Half

The "teaching" begins on the first puff of the MK Ultra. My palate was bombed right away with a spice that quickly coated both my tongue and the roof of my mouth. To the people thinking 'bombed' is a bad thing, this was quite the opposite. The spice was strong, but it was extremely tasty and had a soft characteristic to it. There was no burning or unpleasant feeling going on. Something of interest (and Dion mentioned it in our video) is that, even with all the power coming through, this cigar does not hit your throat. About ten puffs in, the spice mellows out a bit and I was greeted by a warm woodsy flavor mixing in. It was not cedar, nor oak, just a refined non-descriptive woodsy flavor. The strength of the cigar is in the lower full range at this point.

Second Half and Final Thoughts

The first thing I want to mention right away that I didn't put in the first half of this review was look how black the ash was on this cigar. I mean that is B-L-A-C-K! But don't let it scare you away because if the first half wasn't good enough, the second half was where I got what I wanted. The flavor profile on the second half switched over to the classic Illusione flavor I love with tastes of black cherry on the front mixing with an earthy spiciness on the finish. The difference between this and normal Illusione with similar profiles is this one ramped it up to 10 in flavor power. Most of the time I describe flavors with terms like "hints" or "a touch of" but not in this cigar. This one told me what the flavor was and there was no denying it. At this point the strength of the cigar was in the full range, but nothing that makes me feel uncomfortable or lightheaded. The cigar did need one re-lite, but they are very new, so that could have been the issue.

My final thoughts on the Illusione MK Ultra? I hyped this cigar for months in my head before it came out. I did the same thing with the Nosotros last year. I am very happy to say that unlike last year, this stick was exactly what I was hoping for and passed my self-projected hype with flying colors. Strong classic Illusione taste ramped up into a more powerful cigar. It's not going to knock over a seasoned smoker with nicotine (always a good thing in my book), but you will feel it and it's relaxing.

Would I buy it again? I will be keeping a stash of these on hand at all times and since it's a full production, that shouldn't be to hard to do.

Would I buy a box? It's not the cheapest high quality, small cigar you will find out there, but if you have the cash I say it's box worthy for sure. I'll be grabbing one when I get some extra scratch.

These cigars went on sale today at New Havana Cigars. When i was over there he had a pretty good stash of these but I am guessing this first delivery will go pretty quickly.

July 25, 2011

This is my first review back from the trade show so I'm going with a cigar that I've been looking forward to ever since Pete told me about it at Smoke Inn's Great smoke last February. The Tatuaje La Casita Criolla is a 100% broadleaf cigar made at the My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. The stick comes in three sizes -- none of which top the 48 ring gauge, which is a nice departure from the trend of the big-sized cigars most companies are putting out these days. (Side note: I've actually started to turn to the dark side and like some of these beastly sized smokes, but I digress.) I had a lot of time to hang out with Pete Johnson (owner of Tatuaje) and ask him about this blend.

Quote Pete Johnson:I wanted to do something different and something that pays homage to the broadleaf cigars made in the U.S. many years ago. These stick is a lot different than anything else we have put out and I really hope it is as widely accepted as some of my more core lines are.

I want to thank Pete again for all his time he spent with me and my partners at Cigar Explorer during the crazy four days of the Vegas trade show. He is a great guy in the industry and is truly honest and face value.

Enough of that.. let's get down to what really matters.

Due to the size of this cigar, this review is only in two parts instead of the traditional thirds.

The La Casita Criolla I grabbed out of one of the fresh boxes at New Havana Cigars has a beautiful dark wrapper. Dan Welsh (@NHCDan on twitter, owner of NHC) told me that there has been some difference in shades between boxes, but for the most part they are all as nice a looking as this one. The dark brown color is consistent all around the wrapper and has no blemishes. The band on this cigar is the original artwork of the old Cuban brand of cigars by the same name with a Tatuaje twist. I have to say I dig it. It's a very graphical band, but does not come off as showy or too flashy. It's different enough to stand out on the shelf, but not tacky. Well done. The pre-lit aroma screams classic broadleaf. I got a lot of the dark earthy smells, mixed with some dark berry/blackberry scent, especially at the open foot. The cold draw was nice and free and had a rich leather taste with a lot of sweetness left on my lips.

First Half

Lighting this La Casita Criolla was a breeze and the flavor started pouring out from the first puff. This was exactly what I remembered from the first La Casita Criolla I smoked at the trade show. Lots of rich creamy leather flavor on the front with a smooth, almost syrupy sweet finish. The smoke felt so thick that it's one of those cigars you will love to chew on. The part that really blew me away is just how heavy the smoke felt on my palate, yet after you exhale, within ten seconds your mouth feels clean and refreshed. I really don't care for cigars that make my mouth feel coated from top to bottom with smoke flavor the entire smoking experience. I like a little break in between puffs, and this stick delivers. The strength was in the medium range and the construction was excellent.

Second Half and Final Thoughts

The second half on my La Casita Criolla was pretty consistent with the first half (which was awesome) with just a slight change in some of the flavor. The finish was still very sweet and refreshing, but the front now not only had that rich leather flavor, but I was picking up hints of cocoa. It was a mild flavor, but added just a little bit of interest that I was not expecting. Something to note here that I didn't put in the first half is the characteristics of the ash on this stick. The ash on the broadleaf filler does NOT hold long in this size. I accidentally wore this ash twice while smoking the cigar. Make sure you are careful and knock it off at about the 1/2 inch mark. I smoked this cigar all the way until I burned my fingers. The strength never picked up and stayed right in the medium range and I never had any burn/construction issues.

My final thoughts on the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla? Ever since I got back form the show, I have been craving more and more of this cigar. If you've seen any of my IPCPR recaps on twitter or the message boards, you will already know that I called this cigar one of the top three of the show. It's not the most complex blend you will ever smoke from Tatuaje (remember this year's La Vérité) but it doesn't need to be. It's very relaxing, easy to smoke and jam packed full of flavor. An absolute winner.

Would I buy it again? This is where things get even better. The price on these guys is fantastic. If you're a Tatuaje fan but normally lean towards the Red Label line because of cost, here is another option for you in the same price range. Yes, I will buy more.

Would I buy a box? This is 100% box worthy and will be my next box purchase when they are back in stock. Dan Welsh told me he was getting more this week so check out his site if you're looking to grab some soon.

July 12, 2011

Today's cigar review is for the third installment of Smoke Inn's fifteenth anniversary celebration releases. A little background: Smoke Inn is a group of shops in Florida that commissioned some of today's top manufacturers to make special releases for their fifteenth year in business. Last November we had the Tatuaje Anarchy (which I reviewed here) and, in April, the Padron SI-15 (which I reviewed here). Now it's July and Abe (Owner of Smoke Inn) sent to me two of the next release -- 'the My Father El Hijo (translates to 'the son' in English).

The My Father El Hijo is a slightly box pressed robusto with a small open brush foot. From what I am told, it's similar to the My Father blend used in the full line releases, but with a specially-selected wrapper. There were only 650 boxes of these little guys made, so I suggest if you want some to put in a pre-order on Smoke Inn's website very soon.

The My Father El Hijo is a beautiful looking cigar. The wrapper is a nice medium brown tone with minimal veins and a perfectly-hidden seam. The slight box press reminds me of what Padron does to a lot of their cigars and it felt nice in my hand. I know they left the foot of the cigar unfinished intentionally, so you can "get the taste of the blend without the wrapper", but with about an eighth of an inch unwrapped, how much of that is just going to burn off while lighting the cigar? It looks interesting though, so no harm, no foul. The pre-lit aroma was earthy and leathery. The cold draw tasted like cedar with a touch of spice. The wrapper had a great cold draw flavor that reminded me of dried fruit, or a citrus-y orange flavor. Very tasty.

First Third

Lighting my My Father El Hijo was easy, and yes -- maybe I did get one or two puffs of the unfinished foot part of the cigar before hitting the wrapper. The flavors blasted out from the beginning were some classic Pepin spice (which was most dominate taste-wise on the roof of my mouth) mixed with a nice sweet cedar flavor on the finish. The spice and sweet played nicely with one other and had a perfect melting point where they met on the flavor profile. The cigar produced a lot of smoke with each draw and quickly filled the room where my smoking partner and I were sitting. The strength was in the medium to full range and was very relaxing. No construction problems and no burn issues at all.

Second Third

The second third of my My Father El Hijo was where the cigar, in my opinion, went from good to really great. The flavors took a switch up and the overall feel of the smoke got thick and slick smooth. There were still hints of the peppery spicy flavor I love (especially when mingling with my sinuses), but now the front end of the profile was dominated by a robust caramel flavor. My smoking partner described it to me as a Hershey's Rolos taste. Mixing along with this caramel taste was a sweet cedar, which seemed to pick up in strength on the finish. This was a fantastically delicious part of the cigar. I really felt like I was smoking a new classic. The strength of the cigar picked up slightly and reached more into the full range, but not enough to make me uncomfortable.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third of my My Father El Hijo didn't have much more to report in contrast from the second third (for which I can gladly say that I was happy.) The flavors from the second third -- the spice, caramel, and cedar -- were all in perfect balance and tasted great. As I neared the nub, it started to heat up a bit so I put it down because I didn't want to ruin the great flavors I had going on. The strength stayed right about the same in the lower end of full, and the construction/burn was never anything to be worried about from start to finish.

My final thoughts on the My Father El Hijo? This is the best release in the My Father line of cigars to date. I've smoked most of the releases in this line (including both years Limited Editions) and I think they all are sub-par to this one. The flavors in this stick were so strong, yet not overpowering, which made for a fantastic and enjoyable smoking experience. I would even go so far as to suggest making it the regular release blend, as Smoke Inn really has a winner on their hands here. Once these hit the market, I don't think they will last long.

Would I buy it again? I will be buying more of this cigar. This is a stick that I could smoke on a weekly basis. I love the size, too. Great for just over an hour of smoking time.

Would I buy a box? With the limited amount of these being made, I would hate to miss out on them. These are box-worthy.

July 11, 2011

The second cigar I am reviewing from the Viaje new releases is the cigar that shocked a lot of people last year, by taking the number two spot in Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 of 2010. It didn't shock people because it was a bad cigar, it shocked them because not a lot of people had even heard of it. Luckily for me, I live in Columbus Ohio, home of New Havana Cigars -- a long time dealer of Viaje who gets 99% of their releases. I had smoked the V.O.R. (which stands for Viaje Oro Reserva) from last year and knew it was a great cigar. For 2011 the Viaje V.O.R is being released in a double torpedo box-pressed shape .

Quote from Andre Farkas about the shape:VOR & VPR DT were originally a one off size (that's why the Edition Limitada band is on the cigar) but I like the shape too much. This will be a permanent addition to the Reserva line up.

Do you think there are enough bands on this cigar? I'm pretty sure most people will say the same thing at first glance. Just like the La Sirena from Miami Cigars, most of this cigar's wrapper is covered up by bands. Or in the case of La Sirena, one band. What was visible of the wrapper showed off a medium brown color with darkened areas that looked like wood spalting. I noted this also on the most recent version of the Viaje Summerfest. The cigar was evenly packed and constructed very well for its difficult shape. The pre-lit aroma was faint, but did smell slightly of earthy tobacco. I clipped both ends of this double torpedo and the cold draw was quite surprising. I tasted some sweet apricot flavors that I had not expected from the pre-lit aroma.

First Third

My Viaje V.O.R. started out with a full-on assault of spice. From the moment the flame hit the cigar, I was getting a ton of black and white pepper flavors covering my entire palate. An inch into the cigar, the front of the profile was still spicy as ever. What did change up is the flavor on the finish. I started to taste a deep leathery flavor that made for a nice little relief from the pepper. I am a self-proclaimed lover of peppery cigars, but I also love a little mixture of flavors. This stick was producing just that. It needs to be noted that just like the spice, from the first puff, it rockets you into a full-body, full-power smoking experience. This one is not for the medium strength guys. The draw was excellent and the stick burned evenly.

Second Third

The second third of my Viaje V.O.R. saw the flavors turn to what I had been expecting from this cigar. I remembered smoking one from last year and really felt like the flavors were reminiscent of old, refined tobacco. At about the halfway point of this stick, that is exactly what I was tasting again. Whereas in the first third, it was very similar to the normal Oro release from Viaje, this point was where things got different. This flavor was very interesting and I highly suggest to anyone who wants to experience it, to pick up one of these cigars. There are no other words to describe it other than old tobacco. Mixing with this flavor were still the spicy, peppery notes, and now just a mild afterthought of leather. Again, the strength is very strong and even though I was only in the second third, I could feel my heart rate picking up.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

The final third of my Viaje V.O.R. was once again dominated by that old tobacco flavor that came on at about the half way point of the cigar. The spice seemed to fade off a bit to make way for this star, but it was still there enough to make me go for some sips of water. I smoked the last third of this cigar very slowly because the strength was way up there for me and I didn't want to knock myself out. I smoke a lot of heavy sticks and this, for me, is way up there in strength. The construction was great all the way to the nub and I never had to do any touch ups, even when smoking slowly.

My final thoughts on the Viaje V.O.R. DT? This is a much better effort from Viaje. I've historically been a fan of this brand, but have had some disappointment with some of their newer releases. I will 100% say I was not disappointed with this one and it lived up to just what I remembered from last year. The old tobacco flavor I got from this blend is unique, which makes for a cigar that I would like to sit down and pay attention to. I'm going out on a limb here, but maybe that is the flavor that wowed the people at Cigar Aficionado so much? I have no idea if that is true.

Would I buy it again? I would buy a few more of these to keep around for when I want something out of the ordinary. I know of a few still kicking around from last year, so it would be cool to see what even more aging does to them.

Would I buy a box? I don't think I would buy an entire box of these because there are other sticks from Viaje that I like more. I'm sure it's box worthy for some people though because it is a very nice cigar.

July 5, 2011

On Monday June 20th, my business partner Mario (@cigarexplorer on twitter) and I took a road trip from Columbus to the suburbs of Windy City Chicago for the release party of a new stick called My Uzi Weighs a Ton. (FYI It is a reference to this song) But who could come out with a cigar with such a strange name, other than the guest of honor for the event Jonathan Drew. We spoke to Jonathan at length about this cigar and upcoming projects from his company Drew Estate.

Quote from Jonathan about the My Uzi Weighs A Ton:

This project is not a necessarily for the bloggers or the hardcore boutique cigar smokers that tend to lean towards full body, full strength, smaller ring gauge cigars. I when I came up with this idea I designed it for the every day guy who might drive a truck, or might play golf all day, or might only smoke one cigar a week. Those guys are not going to want something small, and something that is going to knock their head off. So keep that in mind when you are smoking it.

A quote about the make up of the cigar from Jonathan posted by Charlie at CigarFeed:

UZI is manufactured at the JDN Factory by their torcedors in three sizes (5×60, 6×60, and 7×60), BUT the materials for the cigars are mostly DE, including the Maduro Capa, Connecticut Capote, and half of the filler – which is Brazilian Mata Fina. The other half of the filler is Joya de Nicaragua’s Nicaraguan strong filler.

With all that intro information written, the only thing left to do is tell you how it smoked. On to the review...

This thing was a beast! I have smoked my share of 6x60 cigars, but this one felt like the biggest of them all. The wrapper was a very dark brown/almost black with lots of visible oils. There were some decent sized veins in the wrapper, but nothing to make it look ugly or rustic in my opinion. The pre-lit aroma was a mixture of fresh tobacco with a hint of coffee. It had a nice, free draw with just a tiny bit of resistance and tasted like toasted nuts with a slight bit of spice on the finish (which was interesting because I don't normally get a different flavor on the finish of the cold draw.)

First Third

Lighting my My Uzi Weighs a Ton (referred to as MUWAT from now on) took a little while, most likely to the size, but when it got going it was drawing big clouds of smoke. The initial flavors were a lot of raw sweetness on the front of the profile that coated the roof of my mouth, with a floral taste to round out the finish. It wasn't floral like the smell you get at your local nursery, but more of a taste that reminded me of dried flowers. I don't eat dried flowers, but that's what it reminded me of. Something interesting to point out about this cigar was just how little resting smoke the stick gave off. I would set the cigar down for a few minutes and then quickly grab it when I noticed no smoke coming off it for fear of it going out. Every time I did this, I was happy to find that the cigar was still lit and still drawing just like the beginning. About an inch in, I started to pick up some of the toasted nut flavors I got from the cold draw to go along with the sweetness that was very dominant. The body was in the medium range.

Second Third

Burning into the second third of my MUWAT the flavor profile changed up a bit. The sweetness was still very present, but now on the finish I was getting a bitter espresso/very black coffee flavor. This taste balanced out the cigar nicely and cut into some of the sweetness which, by that point, may have become a bit overwhelming. It was a nice change of pace from the first third of this cigar. The burn was excellent -- I was smoking it outside on a very humid day so there is something to be said for that. Toward the end of the second third, the finish on the flavor profile picked up just a mild kick of black pepper. I could taste this mostly in the back of my throat. It was mild enough that it wasn't bothersome, but strong enough that I could definitely taste it. The cigar was still right in the medium range as billed.

Final Third and Final Thoughts

Finally getting into the back stretch of this monster of a cigar, there was not much different to report from the second third. With that being said, is not a negative. I enjoyed the combination of the sweetness with the bitter espresso balance in the flavor and felt like the strength of the cigar picked up a bit towards the finish. It may have reached into the medium to full range, but far from full-on-knock-you-down-make-you-sweat power. The cigar never went out and the construction/burn was top notch all the way.

My final thoughts on the My Uzi Weighs A Ton by Subculture Studios and JDN? This was the second one of these cigars I have smoked (first one at the event) and I have to say it makes me reconsider some of my old general standing (cob webby-old, even) likes and dislikes with cigars. I will admit I didn't have the highest of hopes for this cigar before I smoked it due to its size and I'm glad it proved me wrong. In my opinion, the size is right for this blend. It's a solid medium strength stick (as it's described as by its makers) with a lot of good flavor from start to finish. The smoke is a long time from start to finish, but it's an enjoyable one.

Would I buy it again? I would buy this cigar again. This is only the second 6 x 60 cigar I have ever said that about. This could be the perfect stick for an all-day tailgate...the ones where we still set up the party at 6am, even if the kick off is not until 8pm. Yep. We like our tailgating in Columbus.

Would I buy a box? The shop owners at Burning Leaf in Chicago were nice enough to give Mario and me a bundle of 10 of these cigars. I don't think I'll be buying more boxes in this size anytime soon, but I do look forward to trying the other two sizes